1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to an input device for electronic equipment and, more particularly, to a pointing device capable of being installed in data processors. The present invention also relates to a portable information apparatus incorporating therein a pointing device. The present invention further relates to a method of manufacturing an assembly of a circuit board and a connector, which may be provided in electronic equipment such as a pointing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that, in digital data processors with displays and keyboards, such as personal computers, word processors, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc., a pointing device as an auxiliary input device for enabling an operator to manually enter analogue-type information so as to direct two-dimensional coordinate data, such as cursor shifting data, on a display screen is incorporated. Particularly, a small-sized portable data processor generally incorporates the pointing device integrally in the casing of the processor.
The pointing device including a base section, an operating section shiftably supported on the base section, a magneto-electro transducer carried on the base section, and a magnet carried on the operating section to be arranged close to the magneto-electro transducer has been known in the art. In this pointing device, an operator manipulates the operating section to shift it in a desired convexly-curved direction on the base section, so as to change the positional correlation between the magnet and the magneto-electro transducer and thereby to vary the output voltage of the magneto-electro transducer. It is possible, through this operation, to enter analogue information corresponding to the shifting direction and shifting distance of the operating section.
Also, the pointing device including, in addition to the above-described components, a switch mechanism arranged between the base section and the operating section, wherein an operator manipulates the operating section to push it toward the base section so as to actuate the switch mechanism, has been known in the art (see, e.g., Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 7-117875 (JP-B-7-117875)). In this pointing device, the operator manipulates the operating section to push it down, so that it is possible to make the switch mechanism output a click signal in connection with, e.g., a pointer on a display screen of an apparatus to which the pointing device is installed, in addition to the analogue information entering operation.
It is generally understood that the pointing device with the magneto-electro transducer is particularly advantageously installed in various portable information apparatuses for hand-held operation, such as electronic notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, etc., because of a relatively short displacement of the operating section required for a coordinate data entering operation and of a relatively low power consumption. However, in the above-described conventional pointing device with the magneto-electro transducer, the operating section is arranged to be shifted in a curved direction over the base section, so that it is necessary to provide a certain curved surface with desired curvature and area in a mutual engagement portion between the base section and the operating section. As a result, it has been difficult to reduce an outside dimension of the pointing device to such a degree as to permit the pointing device to be installed into a portable information apparatus.
For example, in a folding-type portable information apparatus in which a display is connected, through a hinge, with a keyboard, it is desirable to substantially eliminate the protrusions of switches or the like, provided in the keyboard, from the upper surface of the keyboard, in order to reduce a thickness of the apparatus in a folded condition and to improve the portability. Therefore, in the case where the pointing device with the magneto-electro transducer is installed into the keyboard of such a portable information apparatus, it is required to reduce the dimensions of the pointing device, especially in a height direction, as much as possible.
Also, in the case where the pointing device is installed into a portable information apparatus, it is required to stably and effectively connect the pointing device with a main circuit board (or a mounting board) of the information apparatus in both an electrical and a mechanical way, in a relatively narrow interior space of a casing of the apparatus. Furthermore, in the case where the pointing device with the magneto-electro transducer is installed into a portable information apparatus, various miniaturized components of the pointing device may make the handling thereof troublesome, and thereby the operability of the entire assembling process of the information apparatus may be deteriorated.
Moreover, in the pointing device with the magneto-electro transducer and having a click function, when the operating section is pushed to actuate the switch mechanism, the positional correlation between the magnet and the magneto-electro transducers is inevitably changed. In this operation, the output voltages of the magneto-electro transducers may vary, and thus the signal of analogue data, such as cursor shifting data, may be output from the pointing device, just before a click operation is effected, in a certain shifting direction of the magnet relative to the magneto-electro transducers. Therefore, in order to perform an accurate click operation, it is necessary to push down the operating section accurately in a vertical direction in relation to the base section, which in turn requires the provision of an additional guide mechanism or otherwise the skillfulness of the operator.